1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of controlling the directional flow of bulk liquids. Bulk liquids are generally held in large containment vessels to be stored or transported. This patent deals with the precise control and distribution of liquids from these containment vessels along with the capability of pumping liquid back into the containment vessel by the means of suction. Additionally this patent deals with a unique method of removing any excess liquid from the hoses and lines in the system to insure that no liquid is spilled on the ground or retained within the hoses.
Existing methods of pumping and siphoning bulk liquids has in the past been cumbersome where quantities of the liquid are left within the pump, hoses and distribution lines and this liquid is often spilled onto the ground. A great amount of the bulk liquid is in the form of chemicals, fuel and oil products that produce an environmental hazard when spilled. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has endeavored to put strict regulations on the handling and spillage of these liquids. The petroleum tank and containment vessels are extremely regulated, but the pumping systems are not. No standard or performance windows have been made for the installation and capabilities of the pump systems presently in use.
2. Description of Related Art
The new manual bulk liquid pump control and distribution system was designed primarily for the over the road petroleum transportation industry delivering to above the ground tanks, but it has been found to be useful in the handling of a wide variety of other bulk liquids. This patent is not intended be limited in its scope to the petroleum industry only, but has the capability to be effective in the handling of a variety of other bulk liquids. The new manual bulk liquid pump control and distribution system has been designed to revolutionize not only the way bulk liquids are handled by truck tankers but also the way bulk liquids are transferred between containment vessels. Bulk liquids in the petroleum industry consist of gasoline, oil, diesel, aviation-gas, and transmission fluid to anti-freeze, used oil, and more.
In environmentally sensitive areas such as coast lines, rivers, lakes, ski slopes, parks, wetlands, high water tables or any area where underground tanks cannot be used, there is zero tolerance of a contamination spill. Further, underground tanks must be specially designed, manufactured, installed and monitored to detect and prevent leaks. Accordingly, it is extremely expensive to put a tank underground. In these applications, they are filled by a gravity drop, and no pump is required to deliver fuel to these tanks.
Most corporate farms, businesses, municipalities, airports, rental car yards, trucking companies, construction companies, bus companies and railroads use above ground storage tanks. This style of tank requires a pump to fill them. The application of federal law requires like vehicles to respond to their own accidents and rollovers. In the case of the petroleum industry, if a vehicle is rolled over and lying on its side, the fuel must be removed before the vehicle is up-righted. The fuel is salvageable and requires a pump to remove it. The railroad locomotives are filled, and tank cars are loaded and unloaded with the use of pumps mounted on trucks. All package oil facilities that purchase bulk oils and package them for retail sale, use above ground tanks and require vehicles with pumps to fill them. All shipyards and container yards use above ground tanks, and they require pumps mounted on trucks to load and unload fuel on the tugs and tankers.
Presently, not all states are equal in their environmental requirements. California was the first state to have them, and consequently has the highest restrictions with respect to the handling and transportation of hazardous liquids. Many other states have followed suit with similar requirements and the EPA is now beginning to enforce these laws more diligently in all states. The possibility of a trucking company spilling fuel upon disconnecting of the hoses is being greatly scrutinized. There is no longer any tolerance for these types of frequent spills. The manual bulk liquid pump control and distribution system eliminates substantially all spillage in these zero spill environments.
As regulation of the industry continues to increase, more above ground fuel tanks will be installed to replace underground tanks, resulting in a dramatic increase in above ground pumping applications. Today in California, if you are a jobber that contracts to Chevron, you are required to have a pump installed on your truck to service their customers. That number is growing, and most all new tankers put into service in California will have pumps installed on them. As the agencies tighten the regulations and enforce the environmental laws, more pumps are required to meet the laws governing the above ground fuel storage and handling systems.
The fuel oil transportation industry and chemical transportation industry have problems that are similar to the petroleum industry. Tankers are no longer used as a single delivery of product to an underground tank and back to the refinery for another partial load. These vehicles and operators must be able to multi-task to survive. These include multiple deliveries per load, both gravity and pump loads, numerous drivers per vehicle, variable products, multitudes of tanks and vessels to deliver to, emergency responses, station pump outs, and railroad deliveries, all of which are just some of the different daily conditions. These are all done under the ever-growing scrutiny of the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Transportation, and insurance industry.
The same environmental laws are now being enforced in international markets as well. Islands such as the Dominican Republic are converting to all above ground tanks and are changing their entire transport fleets. They are using a variety of pumps that are put on trucks with no forethought about problems that might be caused. Every single pump is unique and operates differently. This results in daily spills on each and every delivery, which is no longer an accepted practice.
Accordingly, there is a need for a manual bulk liquid pump control and distribution system which improves upon devices that can transfer bulk liquids and still meet the high standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Transportation, the Air Resources Board and the insurance companies. In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. In addition, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.